One big reason that India hasn’t been able to create a homegrown Big 4 like firm is the lack of Big 4 like efficiency. The availability of systems at big firms help their workforce to utilize their time in building competencies rather than wasting it in redundant tasks. ‘Automation’ has been the word on the street for quite some time now. However, automation tools for Chartered Accountants available in the market do not make financial sense for most small & mid-sized practitioners. This article describes in detail the various ways in which new-age firms & professionals (qualified/students) with a growth mindset can leverage readily available & cost effective tools to enhance the productivity of their day to day operations & provide a competitive edge.
The Google Ecosystem:
The Google suite has all the tools required for a firm’s data management needs. Not every file is needed to be emailed to your teammates to get a job done. Having Client Specific G drive folders with roll based access (viewing & editing rights) to information has made it easier to share & collaborate on a dataset in real time basis. Team members can simultaneously work on the same spreadsheet, even remotely! Audit checklists that were previously a word or excel file template can now be converted in to a Google or Microsoft form which would harmonize the procedures across the firm & ensure the storage & backup of data in a streamlined manner.
Even the HR function can be strengthened by replacing the age old printed timesheets concept with Google forms timesheet template. Apart from calculation of billable hours & resultant fee, this compiled data can give crucial insights to the top management about workforce allocation & general efficiency levels.
Another important use-case of G drive is its ability to be structured as a reference library. A digital library accessible to all members of the firms regarding guidance notes, checklists, pronouncements & other study material makes the personnel well equipped and aware about all the requirements in a given field, be it a guidance note on Audit trail or an amendment in TDS. Even the ICAI recommends firms to have a digital library which gives access to important links/ reference materials.
Own website
The notion that building a website requires coding skills or a lot of investment is completely false. This website where the article is published was made for a cost of around Rs 3500. Although that is only the domain & hosting charge and designing the website although free, takes a lot of time, a mid-sized practitioner anyways doesn’t need a complex website. Your own domain helps to set professional emails (eg. partner@xyzandco.com). Some might argue that own domain doesn’t bring any direct business or adds value, it goes a long way in building trust & brand awareness. Kindly note that the firm’s website should comply with the provisions prescribes in the ICAI’s Code of Ethics.
VBA & Macros
The pain-point of handling huge amounts of data is to give it a structure. Although filters, pivot tables & conditional formatting in excel are formidable tools to pick samples or catch hold of inconsistencies, one feature in excel that gets overlooked is Visual Basic for Applications, which some know by the name of macros.
Although a CA’s job is generally analysis & opinion on the data, comparatively small clients won’t always have systems in place to furnish data on-demand and in a manner prescribed by the practitioner. Even if they do, it is our job to cleanse & structure that data in a way where required processes can be implemented & work papers created.
This is where the VBA feature comes to rescue. Once created, a single macro can be used across multiple clients — saving hours every month and bringing consistency to your work papers. For example, in audit of revenue from operations, when a client gives you an excel extract of the sales ledger from tally/other ERP they use, VBA can be used to identify top customers by volume or value. Other uses include report on high value stock while undertaking inventory verification, calculation of tax liability in a multi-scenario analysis, filter & sorting data for focused analysis and much more.
One problem with VBA was that it required coding abilities. However, the advent of AI, specifically chat-based GPT’s such as Gemini, ChatGPT & Deepseek has made VBA coding easier than ever. A detailed description of your problem statements & required reports to these AI tools would give you access to the needed VBA codes in seconds, and for free. Automation has become more & more accessible and the onus to leverage it is on us.
Artificial Intelligence for drafting professional documents
This is one place where many in the fraternity have already started to use AI. Although the Institute has published enough reference materials prescribing standard formats, there goes a huge effort to draft letters, certificates & reports in line with client specific cases and convey the right message. AI is exceptional good at drafting write-ups in the required legal parlance, and can be utilized to form all sorts of documents from engagement or appointment letters to audit reports and submissions to the department. However, complete reliance on AI should be avoided and references must be verified.
Conclusion
I hope this article gave you an idea as to how the automation process can be implemented in your operations. Timely actions and accuracy will not only help the firm retain clients and but also service more clients with the same level of resources. I’m aware that all these tools are general and would require a big investment of time to customize to your needs, but the weight of future savings from tech discounted to present value will surely surpasses the cost in time & monetary terms.
Naman Shah
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